Is 15-20 pounds in four months reasonable?

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lalalalala34
lalalalala34 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm 5'5.5 and over the summer and was at a comfortable 129-131 ish :) but since novemeber I've been eating horribly and reached 140 :( starting using this site today. Ultimately I want to be 120-125. I'm giving myself hopefully 4 months to lose 15-20 pounds. Does that sound reasonable? I'm pretty sedentary, but I am starting to go the gym again at least 3 times a week. In my diary, I underestimate my cardio work out and only log 20 minutes of each w/o resistance counted. because of how inaccurate the machine counts are. But usually, I do 30 minutes treadmill w/ 5 incline, going back and forth between 3.5 mph and 6.5. Then the elliptical at 20 resistance & 20 ramp for another 30 minutes. I just don't want mfp telling me I have 500 extra calories to eat then lose my deficit D: Also, today I didn't really plan my macros so my macros are absolutely dreadful today lol but how's tomorrow's looking? Most days will look like tomorrow does. Any changes/tips? It's honestly a pain making healthy food. Advice on quick and easy meals?

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  • htimsm87
    htimsm87 Posts: 104 Member
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    I definitely think it is doable. Four months is 16 weeks so of you target one pound a week that is 16 pounds in four months. You will have to be honest with your intake and cardio. Best of luck to you, you can do it with some hard work.
  • jjlibunao
    jjlibunao Posts: 78
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    I'm in the same boat you are. Last year when I went to Vegas in May, I weighed 118 lbs - partying in a bikini and everything. I was horrified to weigh myself last week and see 140lbs which means I gained 22 pounds in the last 8 months! Yes - I've been wearing a lot of black comfy clothes to cover the weight gain. I'm running a half marathon on June 8 and going back to Vegas at the end of June, so I have to lose those 22 pounds again. At least 15 pounds before the race.

    Yes, it's totally doable - especially 15 pounds. I had to do after the birth of my daughter (back in 2010), and during that time I remember that I was incredibly disciplined. I was pretty good with food. Not going out to eat and not too many cheat days. And I began getting back into running. So diet and exercise was key and it worked. I just have to get back into that mind set again. That's why I joined MFP last week.

    But I agree with you. I'm a mother of a three year old, and it's pain to prepare healthy food all the time - especially if you're trying to do a low carb diet. And it gets costly. But low carb works the best for me when I'm trying to drop weigh quickly. It's just time consuming. When I'm running late for work in the morning, I struggle to cook eggs/egg whites and bacon. It's so much easier and faster to just eat a bowl of cereal.
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
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    Although it is possible, it's not very reasonable & not very likely. I'm just wanting to be honest upfront because many people (myself included) want to lose at least 1-2lbs a week & try really hard & even though we pretty much do everything good, it doesn't often work out that way.

    I eat really healthy & just was able to start working out about a month ago. I started Insanity, so I thought i could lose even 3+lbs/ week like I kept seeing a bunch of people do.
    It took me 2&1/2 weeks to lose my first pound, & yesterday I just lost my 2nd - after 3&1/2 weeks. Buuuuuuut... there is definitely a good difference in my tummy!

    Goal yourself high - it's always great to reach for the stars. But also set reasonable & healthy expectations for yourself. I'm guessing once you lose this weight you want to keep it off, so understand doing things for the long haul is slightly different than having a quick-fix for the short term.

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